Not sure is this is the right forum, but I believe I'll get some good advice here.
What would be good shrubbery to plant in betwixt several plumeria I am rooting now. I like low growing, evergreen, flowering would be nice.
Plumies are mixed colors, 5 or so.
I'll take advice for annuals to front the lot, too!
Thanks in advance -
Sally
Good companions?
Hi Sally,
For the ground between plumerias, you could put any groundcover. There is a trailing Rosemary, which is nice. Nasturtiums are bright, colorful, and cheery and reseed themselves. Swedish Ivy is gorgeous but needs pruning often. I always like the silvery look to Dusty Miller. Creeping Thyme is another neat ground cover. Catmint has purple flowers and is lovely too. Blue Felicia Daisy are stunning. I would take a trip to your local garden center and see what tickles your fancy. As an alternative, red bark chips as mulch looks stunning beneath plumeria flowers. Maybe Eva will see this and post a picture of her Thornton's Lemon Drop with the red bark chips beneath. I think Brad does it too. It is stunning.
gosh Sally...i had posted a thread on companion plants for plumies..i suggested hibiscus...i have some rudibeckie and annuals growing as well..and being in Venice...you might try what i do especially since the temps so close...one of the fun things to do is put wild flower seed down....or as i have done many times..mixed marigolds and zinnias....let me see if i can find some pics....first pic is of the wild flowers and annuals i have growing with the plumies
and here's the rudibeckia and singapore obtusa
lots of choices being in the zone in florida you are
Not evergreen, but I like Variegated Nasturtiums, Variegated 4 O'Clocks, Portulaca
Anything that will drink a lot of water and help keep my potting soil on the drier side.
In the ground I use the same. ;^)
I also like to put a few plumies in my Irises and daylillies.
Oh, Clare, thank you for all those recommendations. I'll check the ones I don't know out.
This bed is going to be large (getting rid of the grass on one side of the house), so I'm looking for more than ground cover in between, something low, wide 2-3' x 2-3'.
This area gets full sun. I can put plumbago there, but I'm looking for something different . . . but, readily available!
I like the wildflowers so much, but I've never had much luck with seeds. Is Rudebekia also known as Beach Sunflower? (I'll look it up, I'm just lazy). I like the wild, natural look of it.
Malestrom, I think this bed might already be on the dry side, so maybe the plumeria will like it a lot???
I am in zone 10a, so I'm not sure the catmint, thyme, or ivy will thrive here. The Nasturtium is looking REAL good, though. So many varieties, and all have such great reviews. I hope the garden center has some good ones!
Plant files didn't have rudibekia, and offered no alternatives that seemed close. Is there another name for it?
well rudibeckia is akin to the brown eyed susan( not beach sunflower)...exceopt it has very fuzzy light freen leaves..it's a perenial and comes back here fine...if you can grow nasturtians there..you must have some shade...can't imagine them enduring the hot sunlight...there is no reason why a wild flower mix...at walmart or other places would not work for you...but you have to plant earlier or later in year...as you know Correopsis is the state flower and that is a wildflower and a dandy....around some of my plumies i have california marigold (really cosmos sulphureus)..it loves the heat and the cold...blue porter weed.and of course gallardia do their own thing and are a show piece
while out there working i had a frriend come by...can you spot him in this pic?
Hi Sally, catmint, thyme, and Swedish Ivy (not regular Ivy) will thrive in Zone 10. They thrive here in my garden, and I'm in Zone 10. Hebe is another great alternative. Your local Home Depot will have selections that will do well in your area so I recommend that you take a walk through their garden center and look at what is available there. Bob is right that you can grow anything in your Zone as I can. Rudbeckia is spelled wrong, which is probably why you couldn't find it in PlantFiles: http://davesgarden.com/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=rudabeckia&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search&searcher[genus]=Rudbeckia
Plumerias need a lot of water in your zone and in mine. I have to water every day in the summer because the soil is dry every day. You will want plants that don't compete for the water, space, and nutrients. If it takes away these things from your plumerias, they will suffer for it by not growing well or blooming well so consider plants which don't have deep root systems. Annuals typically don't have deep root systems so Nasturtiums are a good candidate.
Here are some of mine for you to see. The first picture is the Nasturtiums:
Succulents are another great option. These succulents are in pots:
Geraniums are another good option:
This is Felicia, Blue Daisies:
This is a Hebe:
Lavender is a great idea too:
This is Felicia also in white:
More Nasturtiums with Sweet Alyssum:
This is Nepeta, Catmint. I could go on and on, but these are my favorites, and I'm sure you have your own tastes.
Last one, Swedish Ivy, Plectranthus coleoides, growing at the base of the Hardenbergia Vine:
I grew a real nice batch of catmint for tea several years ago
I couldnt keep the dang stray cats out of my garden
They were like drunk men in a glass house
Trashed everything rolling around in it rrrrrrr.....
It makes a great tea for nerves, I mixed it with fennel which I also grew.
Ineeded more tea to deal with the stress caused by the cats LOL!! =^..^= Yeeeooowwllll
heh... 8^D
Too funny, Malestrom, about cats in the catmint; who'd've thunk it?
If rudbeckia is black-eyed susan and coneflower, I have some thriving wild. I wonder if I can move some?
Clare - Your nasturtiums are lovely. And, lavender is a personal favorite; my bed is overflowing with 3 different types, and I still think I'd like more! I walk through Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart and a local nurserie or two every week while my kids are at sports practice. I see many things I like the look of, so I buy a sample, and sometimes it does well in it's intended location, sometimes it doesn't. That's why I seek advice here. I crave your expertise.
I have little real shade. We live near the river, so we have pine and palmetto scrub - much different "shade" than most.
I assumed plumeria all got to be really tall since two of my greener-thumbed gal-pals have monstrous ones: 10'+. So, shrubbery seemed the way to surround it, until now I see many smaller, 4 - 6' plumies, and ground cover looks great with those.
You all have been great.
Thanks much.
sally you're welcome...rudibeckia is not QUITE brown eye susan...it's more dramatic.."classy"...is that the word...lol..think it's more substantial than it's cousins..but they all have a great look and i'm sure you have gallardia growing wild there as well...would look great...and don't overlook simple marigolds underneath and around the plumies
Beautiful.
And, you're right, simple.
LOL re the catmint - THAT'S exactly why, despite liking the coloring, I didn't plant it. Do not want cats rolling around in my beds and don't want my dogs going postal in the window seeing them!!! LOL
As for Lavender, Clare - yea you!! ALWAYS a good time for lavender...my all time favorite scent!!
MMmmmm lavender...
The scent is supposed to have a sedative like effect on the human mind.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz...what Michael?